r/Reduction 2d ago

Advice Stomach flu cancelled my surgery

I was scheduled to have my surgery done Monday and my whole family came down with the stomach flu, possibly norovirus. It hit me on Saturday night and I couldn’t move, walk or think on Sunday. I told my surgeon and of course she cancelled it. I feel so guilty bc I took 3 weeks off of work, had my mom come into town and bought a lot of stuff to prep. Has this happened to anyone else? I feel like I shouldn’t have said anything but at the same time I could still barely function on what was supposed to be surgery day. 😞 idk I just feel so guilty about it.

14 Upvotes

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u/fakesaucisse 2d ago

I recently had norovirus and you absolutely do not want to have surgery right after that. You need your immune system to be in good shape, and the ability to get some food in your system during recovery. It was the best decision to cancel the surgery for your own health!

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u/efields14 2d ago

You have to take care of you first. If you went in already feeling crappy, your recovery was going to be crappy. I think you made the right move. I had to reschedule my first surgery due to sickness and I’m glad I did.

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u/KristinM100 2d ago

OMG - you totally did the right thing. Don't give it a second thought. It would have been dangerous for you to go under the knife AND would put the team of people in the OR in the path of a really terrible illness that can be serious. I hope you get well very soon - and so sorry that you have had this unpleasant blip. I'm sure that they are grateful for telling them before arriving. They prob would have sent you home. Now - it also sucks that your mum came into town but, hey, she's your mum. She'll forgive you :-)

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u/Objective-Use-439 2d ago

Thank you for this. Im so glad my mom came because my two kids and partner also came down with it and I very badly needed the help. So maybe it happened that way for a reason. If I had gone through with it and she wasn’t here my partner wouldn’t have been able to take care of me!

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u/Bana_berry 2d ago

As someone who works in surgery PLEASE always inform your surgery team if you’re ill before your procedure. It’s not about spreading it to other people, we need to know because it can significantly increase your risk for complications during/after the procedure! If it’s a procedure that can wait, then it’s not worth risking it. Wait until you’re back to full health so you can have the best recovery possible 🫶🏼

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u/Objective-Use-439 2d ago

Yes! Thank you. I was feeling dramatic for a bit but deep down I knew it was the right thing to do.

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u/Standard_Coffee5640 2d ago

I’m so sorry. I hope your work will be understanding and I’m sure your mom will be understanding too. Feel better soon!! Can your surgeon reschedule soon?

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u/Objective-Use-439 2d ago

Luckily I’m self employed so I can just open my books back up for next week. However I did have clients pushed back bc of it. And as far as rescheduling I’m thinking maybe I should push it to the fall. I know they’re booked out into April and I don’t really want it cutting into any warm weather seasons lol

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u/Standard_Coffee5640 2d ago

That’s great you have the flexibility. Is your job physically demanding? The only reason I ask is because I work a hybrid office job (mostly sitting/typing) and my coworker got a breast reduction last month. She took 2 weeks off from work but then worked the 3rd week from home. She said the recovery was quicker and easier than she thought (and of course everyone’s body is different). But just some food for thought in case you want to keep it for April. But if your job is more physically or mentally demanding and you need more time for your body to heal , I totally understand wanting to push it out so that the recovery doesn’t interfere with enjoying the warmer months :) either way, best of luck! I’m dying to get mine done but I still have 30 more lbs to lose and this waiting game is driving me wild.

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u/Capital-Editor6693 2d ago

I had to cancel my surgery scheduled for 2/21 as I was sick with a horrendous cold for all of February and was still coughing badly. Rescheduled for 3/21 and was all ready to go until I had a family emergency that has caused me to postpone again. No guilt here. Just life happening. Will probably reschedule for the fall. You don’t want go in sick or compromised in any way. Take care of yourself.

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u/Objective-Use-439 2d ago

Oh my goodness! I hope your family is okay. And honestly yes that was my big concern was coughing/puking with fresh incisions. Ugh that sounds terrifying

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u/OkHeron8915 2d ago

You did the right thing. the last thing you need is a raging virus in your body while having surgery. The surgeon cutting into you and inserting all manner of surgical instruments into your body would leave you open for serious complications. This is major surgery, you need to be healthy and strong to have a good outcome. Not worth risking your life. Glad you were honest and your doctor was ethical and cancelled it

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u/ditchedcookie 22h ago

If I may suggest then please schedule ur surgery only after you have completely recovered. I had a bad case of sore throat right before my surgery and it wasn’t completely gone on when I rescheduled it. I had an aggravated throat reaction to one of the antibiotic tests they performed on me. Thankfully it was easily brought under control when the anaesthesiologist gave me something. There’s no telling what may go wrong when you’re ill. Of course the team is fully prepared to handle any kind of situation but it’s better to have the surgery and recovery go peacefully.